Problem: Failing to Tighten the Entire Body, Especially the Unloaded Side
“Would you shoot a cannon from a canoe?”—we often ask our students during our certifications.
Of course, the answer is no. If you want to achieve a strong press, you must press from a solid foundation.
Your body must remain stacked and tensed under the kettlebell through the entire movement. You must exert full-body control and prevent any leakage of tension and loss of balance, as the weight must be directed straight to the ground through your stacked bones and tensed muscles.
This is a skill that can be easily learned through practice, at least on the loaded side. But things are different for the unloaded side, especially with a heavy kettlebell. When the weight becomes committing, your focus shifts almost totally towards the loaded side and you may fail to keep proper tension on the other, from your foot, up to your grip.
If this happens, it leads to several problems. You may allow your unloaded heel to raise off the floor and/or your knee to bend. You may also over-arch your lumbar or lean sideways too much. Not only this prevents you from pressing with your full potential, it also makes your attempt unsafe and illegal.
The Band-Pull Press is a great drill that teaches you how to properly tense your unloaded side.
Hang a loop band on a pullup bar. You must select a resistance that, as you stretch it by pulling it down with one arm, is challenging enough to strongly engage your lats and midsection, but not to the point of requiring maximal effort to do it. This is because you need to be able to keep focused on your press as you are stretching it.
Grab a 7-10RM kettlebell and check out the video below for instruction.
If you did everything properly, you will feel the kettlebell lighter once again, just as when you were pulling the band
Then get a heavier kettlebell and press again, always pulling the virtual band. If you realize that at some point you are losing tightness on the unloaded side again, revisit the band.
The bottom line is that the band-pull press is a great awareness drill. It teaches you some lessons on how to generate tension on the unloaded side and direct it towards the loaded one.
Victorious:
A Complete Guide to Pressing a Heavy Kettlebell
To claim this special launch price before the offer ends on Wednesday, September 29, 11:59 PM Pacific Time, please CLICK HERE
This course is for those who don’t settle for basic instruction and average strength.
Dive deep into the subtleties of elite pressing with master instructor Fabio Zonin—and come out stronger. Much stronger.
- —The three keys to a perfect press
- —A learning sequence refined for the fastest and most thorough skills acquisition
- —This handle placement innovation alone is likely to add kilos to your press
- —How to “arm wrestle” the kettlebell for greater strength and safety
- —A subtle “victorious” wrist action will light up your triceps for a powerful lockout
- —The guide to perfectly stacking the kettlebell and your joints—explained better than ever
- —The three cues vital to strong and healthy shoulder mechanics
- —The two highest yield drills for press specific shoulder mobility
- —The strength magic of the “G.L.A.G.”
- —How to find an unlikely pressing ally in your lats
- —A power inhalation—how to load your breath for strength
- —When to hold your breath and when to power breathe—use this exact timing to press big
- —An active negative—to keep your shoulders healthy and to build more mass
- —A breakthrough two-step sequence for mastering the perfect—for you—press grove (even gireviks who have been pressing heavy for years find it to be game changing)
- —How to divide your press into these two phases to deepen your understanding of the lift and accelerate your gains
- —Two killer cues, one for each pressing phase
- —How to stand strong and press heavy and strict with these three pro tips
- —A “double trigger” for a most powerful start—an essential StrongFirst cue taken to the next level
- —Why it is impossible to stay perfectly upright when pressing a heavy kettlebell overhead—and how to shift your body “legally,” without turning the military press into a side press or wrecking your lower back
- —The specialized variety drills hand-picked for fastest gains:
- —Floor press—to teach your shoulders strength and health
- —Z-press—to knock the habit to lean back out of you and to replace it with a bulletproof brace
- —Tall kneeling press—to master a perfect hip shift
- —Loaded clean—to make your max feel like a feather
- —“Push-pull”—to tap into your “muscle software” and activate maximally
- —Bottom-up press—to optimize your groove and weight stacking and to build a fierce grip that is a must for pressing really heavy weights
- —Stacked press—to drive the “arm wrestling” concept home
- —Two state of the art Built Strong training plans for massive size and strength—designed by “Maestro of Programming” himself
No matter how many years you have spent under heavy iron, we promise that this video will enable you to stand victorious with a heavier kettlebell than ever.
To claim this special launch price before the offer ends on Wednesday, September 29, 11:59 PM Pacific Time, please CLICK HERE
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